Shadow The Hedgehog 2: Rise of the Androids
by Richard Pilvelis
Summary: A Shadow The Hedgehog Fanfic. This is my take on what would have happened if Shadow really killed Eggman in the Lava Shelter in the neutral storyline.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: A Dying Empire's Cry

After traversing the Lava Shelter with E-123 Omega and destroying Eggman's Egg Dealer, Shadow had realized his purpose in life and recovered the final Chaos Emerald from Eggman. "I made you, and this is how you repay me?!", exclaimed a weak Dr. Eggman, lying on the ground before Shadow. "I am Shadow Android", he proclaimed, "the ultimate battle life form created by Eggman. You may have created me, doctor, but now I will lead this empire and androids will rule! This is who I am!" Omega was about ready to get his revenge on the doctor and pointed his arm, which had transformed into a gun, at Eggman. "Eggman...target acquired...locked and loaded...FIRE!" "What?!", exclaimed Eggman, not knowing his fate. "Goodbye, doctor!", yelled Shadow. With a combination of Omega's blasting and shadow's special powers, not a trace of Eggman was left.

"Now, Omega, let us lead this empire in a way it has never been lead before! Let us do what our foolish creator could not! We will...we will conquer all!"

Omega had something else in mind. "Affirmative.", he said reluctantly.

Chapter 1: Birth of the Robot Empire

Shadow proceeded to Eggman's main computer room. He wished to find any blueprints the doctor may have, new or old. Anything would be useful to him, he thought. He searched the mainframe and discovered many designes for countless robots and mechanical devices. "No, no, no.", Shadow said, "None of these will do! They are all outdated! Why didn't he..." Before he could finish, the alarm started going off. Omega walked nonchalantly into the room. "GUN forces have entered the base. Attacking at full power." Shadow turned around and looked at Omega. "Ah, yes! This would not have happened had you not told me not to bother with the lava defence systems. Nonetheless, I will crush them all the same." The computer started making strange noises and finally stopped. A picture of blueprints for a capitol ship was before him. It had the strangest abilities and could manipulate the power of the seven chaos emeralds. It's name was Ultimate. Eggman could not give it a proper name before he met his untimely demise, so it's only name was "Ultimate".

"Attention all Androids, defend the base at all costs! I must search for the remaining Chaos Emeralds.", announced Shadow using a voice changer to sound like Eggman. The androids would listen to no one except their creator, so Shadow had to work around this. "Shadow, you have the Emeralds. Why did you say that?" "Because", said Shadow, "If any of those androids are as smart as me, they would figure out that I'm lying. I find it strange that I cannot use missles like them, nor can they use chaos powers like me. Hmmm, bah! Eggman must have made me superior to them in case they rebelled, but the tables turned. Alright, Omega, let's find Ultimate!"

Next chapter: Searching for "Ultimate"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Searching for "Ultimate"

While the robot's held off the advancing GUN troops, Shadow and Omega boarded the Egg Balloon and took off in the direction of Eggman's old Metropolis. During the time when Eggman owned everything except the chaos emeralds and ruled from his Death Egg, he had created a Metropolis filled with gears and lava. That place was so huge that it had to house something useful, if not Ultimate itself. The place was in absolute ruin. The lava was completely cooled, the gears and gadgets were rusted and unusable and the robots that once guarded the place were scrap metal. A lone computer was the only thing operable. "Hmmmm, that computer might be able to tell us something about this place.", said Shadow curiously. The computer gave information about a massive winged fortress Eggman used back then. In Shadow's eyes, it was perfect! "Omega! Have the robots on board gather the remains of these useless heaps of metal and bring them on the ship. You and I will find this winged fortress.

"Affirmative.", replied Omega.

It was not difficult to find the winged fortress, as it was in the Metropolis' only docking bay. "Omega, pilot the Egg Balloon and bring it back to the base. I'll pilot this ship and fight off the GUN troops surrounding the base.", said Shadow with a dark twinkle in his eye. GUN robots had followed Shadow to Metropolis and started attacking the area. They were so intent on destroying Shadow that the shot everything that was either a destroyed robot or a shadow. Shadow inserted one of his chaos emeralds into the console and the ship started right up. He activated the guns and shot the GUN robots down like they were nothing. "This is what I came for! Now let's see the humans stop me!" He flew at full speed with the Egg Balloon and flew back to the base.

Meanwhile...

...in the underground of the same Metropolis...

...a dark secret...

...is awakened!

"Hoho!", echoed a mysterious voice, "It seems you haven't found Ultimate, but something else, eh? How fortunate! Who knew a little whelp like you would try to kill me?! With this little robot at my disposal, you will not defeat me again! Prepare to meet the true "Ultimate"!"

Next Chapter: Purification Via Ruination


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Purification Via Ruination

When Shadow returned with the Wing Fortress, there were only a few GUN robots left to take out. Shadow finished them off quickly while Omega landed the Egg Balloon inside the hanger. There were, for some reason, human troops still inside the base, and the robots weren't doing a thing about it. They just stood there getting shot. Shadow met Omega in the computer room and witnessed this.

"What the?! Why aren't they atttacking?! They're only humans!" "That's precisely the point, Shadow!", said a mysterious, yet familiar, voice. "YOU! It can't be!", yelled Shadow. "Memory data indicates that Eggman has perished, this is an imposter!", said Omega.

A Robotnick robot, similar to the ones in Sky Sanctuary only in Eggman's garb, stood before them. "This may be a robot, but I am very much alive!", said Eggman, "This is only a temporary body, but it's controlled elsewhere. My robots won't attack people because I may want world domination, but I would never hurt, let alone kill, any human to obtain it! It's one thing to threaten someone and/or hold them prisoner, but when you harm them then that's too far! By the way, looks like those humans are comming closer! And I don't suppose you need this Chaos Emerald you left in my old Wing Fortress!"

"You scum! Give it back!", yelled Shadow while at the same time using Chaos Spear. The robot warpped to an unknown location. "Sorry, Shadow, but I too am after "Ultimate" which will destroy you and those Black Aliens!" "Black...Aliens?", said Shadow, "Dang! I forgot about them! Hey, if they obliterated Westopolis, all I'll have to do is kill them and take over! YES!" Shadow and Omega fled the Lava Shelter in the Wing Fortress. Shadow used another emerald to power it and learned not to leave another emerald behind. It was off to Westopolis.

Next Chapter: Black Doom's Scheme


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Black Doom's Scheme

After much traveling and destroying GUN robots, Shadow finally made it to Westopolis, which had been the victim of a massive bombing run. Black Hawks ruled the blood-red sky over the steel ruins while Black Arms Soldiers and Black Oaks roamed the streets between the leaning skyscrapers and Black Larva crept through the cracks in the buildings and pavement. Whatever few GUN soldiers or mechs there were were quickly destoryed. The only building intact was the capitol building where the president resided, overlooking all the damage and meditating on the savagry of these barbarian foriegners. The GUN General stormed into the room and said, "Sir, we need to get you out of here and into the safe zone!" In that same instant, the Wing Fortress appeared over Westopolis raining heavy fire on the city, killing both black Arms soldiers and GUN troopers. When the General saw this he though, "Shadow...I knew you would come. That may be Eggman's ship, but he wouldn't attack the city directly like this! Now is not the time, but I will get you for what you did those 50 years ago!"

With that the General and the President fled the White House and flew to the GUN Fortress inside a massive government carrier. A voice suddenly drowned out all sound within the city. "This city WAS yours, Black Doom, but now it's mine!", cried Shadow. Black Doom appeared within the cockpit of the Wing Fortress in his ghostly guise and said, "What are you doing, Shadow?! You're supposed to be killing off those humans and gathering the chaos emeralds!" "I have the chaos emeralds, Black Doom! I'm not about to give them up to some belligerent, legless Satan-figure!", said Shadow nonchalantly. "Hmm hmm!",mumble Black Doom without much suprise, "It seems you lack one emerald! Did that foolish scientist steal it from you? No matter! We don't need the emeralds now anyway. For now, we will attack the final human stronghold and crush the human resistance. If you continue to resist, you will regret ever having survived that foolish attempt at saving the humans!" Black Doom disappeared. "Survived? No...no! I'm an android! An android with a mission!", exclaimed a rather bewildered Shadow.

Over the intercom was a voice message. It was from the Eggman robot he met at the Lava shelter. "Nice to talk to you again, Shadow Android! I know you want this chaos emerald back, so meet me at the Black Aliens' floating ruins! I'll be in one of the temples. See you there, if you can make it!" The doctor's message ended. "I need that emerald to conquer this world, and if that idiotic doctor is foolish enough to actually call me out and fight me I can get the emerald!", said Shadow as he was redirecting the ship's coarse.

Meanwhile...

...at the Black Aliens' Ancient Floating Temple...

"Hoho! What a foolish hedgehog! I can't believe my grandfather created such a powerful, yet stupid creature! He may be the ultimate lifeform, but he won't stand a chance against this little weapon! Of course, I hope this was a good idea." The sound of a gun being cocked could be heard. "Oh well. Besides, how bad can one unsuspecting hedgehog be?"

Next Chapter: Dr. Eggman's Miscalculation


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Dr. Eggman's Miscalculation

Shadow arrived at the ruins powered by the five power jewels. The temple hovered over an endless ocean of blue and clouds. Eggman's airships weren't present this time. He jumped from the Wing Fortress and landed in the same place where he started the first time he came. The temple was completely abandoned. Nothing was upright and no Black Alien was in sight. A few pillars were erect and small stone walls were present, but nothing more. A voice spoke to Shadow. It was the voice of Eggman. "I didn't think you'd come, Shadow Android!", said Eggman, "Now, let's see if you can pass this test! I want to see if you can make it to the Command Ship on the other end of these ruins! If you can make it there, we'll talk." Shadow began to observe the ruins as nothing more than an unwanted hinderance. He said, "I made it the first time around and destroyed your mighty ships! I can do it again with nothing in my way! Foolish doctor!" With that he ran through the first few passageways until he got to the first spacious area where he destroyed Eggman's first airship. A few stone walls stood, but they were rather small, prompting Shadow to proceed without caution. Without warning an Eggman robt, which looked like the robot Eggman used to visit Shadow with in the Lava Shelter, flew out from behind one of the walls and began to open fire on Shadow. It had a gun similar to the one used by the robotnik robots in Sky Sanctuary, but more advanced.

Shadow, using his homing attack, destoryed the robot. Three others came after him and were swiftly defeated. "Pathetic!", said Shadow as he proceeded. He passed through the first temple and was confronted by robots. While he battled them, the true Eggman robot fired a shot from a long, black rifle and destroyed the power crystal instantly. The sound of shattered glass filled the room and the robot escaped, but the temple was crumbling and falling. Shadow grabbed onto the parachute rocket and escaped the falling temple, but not the persuing robots.

This same process happened at every location up to the fourth. Shadow arrived at the dead end where he rode a Black Hawk, but since there was no hawk there was no way to get to the final crystal and enter Eggman's ship. A robot came from behind him, but was quickly defeated by a Chaos spear. Fortunately, the jetpack was intact, so Shadow used it to cross over the gap. When he finally arrived at the final location, he saw the Eggman Robot and said, "What was all this?! Did you try to test my skills? Try to steal data of my abilities?" "No.", said Eggman. "Well then, why?!" "Simply...", said Eggman as he was warpped to the cockpit of the ship,"...to kill you." A missle launched from the ship and destroyed the last power crystal. The whole temple crubled on itself. As this was happening, Shadow ran toward the upper level, jumped onto the top of a falling pillar, then, with all his strength, launched himself toward the main cannon of the ship. He was launched into the barrel, unintentionally hit a missle from within and destroyed it, but left Shadow within the ship and barely scratched. Shadow, with fire in his red eyes, ran to the ship's bridge to get the answers he sought. The answers to what? He was so angry that not even he knew.

Next Chapter: The Pursuit of Dr. Eggman


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Pursuit of Dr. Eggman

Shadow, inside the doctor's massive command ship, started by searching the various rooms within the ship. He would go into a room, destroy the robots there and gather any information he could find on the computers. Unfortunately, he would only find data on Eggman's past exploits which weren't very useful to him. The corridors seemed to go on forever as Eggman's continuous taunts filled them with their echoes. The further he went, the stronger the robots became. Soon they became violently strong and shot at everything, even their own, to destory Shadow. At the end of the first corridor was an elevator which led to the second level. Unfortunatly there was a strange robot guarding it. It shot homing missles at Shadow, but, being crafty, he leapt toward the robot so that the missles would collide with it. The robot raised it's shield and remained unscathed. "If missles won't destroy you, then this will!" Shadow used his homing attack on it continuously, which cause the circuit boards to crack and break because of the magnitude of the impacts. Shadow then proceeded to the second level.

The second level was almost identical to the first. The robots were more violent than before and the information he tried to gather couldn't be found. However, in a few rooms before the next elevator, there was a computer that provided a small spark of determination. The computer said, "Shadow made a great sacrifice to save the world. I must not let his death go in vain. I have found his body and will create an android army of Shadows! If I succeed in doing that, then I'll be unstoppable!" Shadow then thought to himself, "The real Shadow is alive? Am I he or one of those...androids. No! I cannot be him because the doctor said himself that I was created by him along with Omega. Hey, wait! Where is Omega anyway? I have no time to worry about him! I must find the doctor, now!" With that he proceeded to the thrid level, which was strangely enough unguarded.

The third level housed rooms filled with nightmares. Every room either contained tanks with robotic experiments, computers with blueprints or liquid containers with Shadow androids within them. Shadow did not stay in this place for long. For him, this was the nightmare's insulation. He hurried to the final level, the Command Bridge. He smashed down the security door with one, strong, chaos induced punch only to find the command deck void of all life, natural and artificial. A visual screen appeared with the image of the doctor. "Nicely done, Shadow Android!", said Eggman, "I'm sorry I couldn't see you in person, but this ship is on a direct course for my secret hideout. This robot will keep you company until you arrive." A strange robot came out of nowhere and sealed the exits. "Have fun!", said the doctor as the screen disappeared. The robot was similar to E-101 beta MKII. Shadow easily destroyed it because it's weak spot was behind it. The battle had caused the computers and numerous other things to become either severely damaged or completely destroyed. After homing on the robot for the last attack, he landed in the center of the room, where an escape capsule trapped him. Soon after that it launched him out of the ship and under him, his landing place, was the rebuilt and rerunning Neo-Metropolis.

Next Chapter: Machine World


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Machine World

After a rather rough landing from the Command Ship, Shadow found himself in the midst of steel towers and complex machines. "Where am I? Is this Metropolis?", he asked himself. "Close,", said Eggman as a screen appeared with his image, "but it's not the same. This is Neo-Metropolis! After you came, my busy little bees quickly rebuilt this massive hive. With this robot city now in operation I'm unstoppable!" The screen disappeared. "When I was last here, I remember there being a massive tower in the center of this city. I must get to that tower, for surely Eggman is inside!" With haste he proceeded deeper into the city. Black alien starships similar to the ones found inside the Black Comet floated in the air taking down the massive skyscrappers as they went. These were not really a threat because Eggman's powerful Eggbots carried various powerful weaponry. Each one carried something different, as each one was meant for a specific task within a squadren. Massive laser blasts came from within the city. Eggman had prepared for this and installed massive anti-air laser turrets.

Shadow seemed to have an easy time getting to the main tower, until he actually got there. The tower was crawling with security robots, which wasn't much of a problem with Shadow. Using chaos control, Shadow was able to charge to level 49. Level 50 was protected by a special barrier that was impenetrable by any kind of force, which was where Eggman was at. Shadow began to destroy robots and inspect computers, but nothing worked. After much irritation, Shadow banged on one of the keyboards, destorying it, but opening a door next to the sealed one. He passed through the hallway and entered a large room with a glass dome covering. Nothing of importance was here. It was almost like a break room. Suddenly, a large red machine came crashing through the dome while Sonic was holding on. "Get out of my way! Eggman's mine!", he declared. "Shadow, I can't let you go...not like this!", said Sonic. "You! You're the one whose working with the black aliens and has killed the people of Westopolis! It's time you paid for your crimes, you demon!" The battle commenced.

Shadow quickly KO'ed Sonic and repeatedly used Homing attacks on Diablon, even though it had it's shield up. The constant slamming of Shadow's body caused the shield to break. Shadow then homed in on the machine itself and quickly destoryed it. "Shadow...why are you doing this?", asked Sonic in a weakened voice. "I wish to do what my creator couldn't accomplish, and that's to take over the world!" "What?", said Sonic, too weak to say anything else. Shadow then proceeded to the 50th level where Eggman resided. The door was unlocked because Eggman wished to test Shadow's true strength before letting him in. He had a suprise waiting for him...a nice, big suprise!

Next Chapter: Revenge Upon The Doctor


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Revenge Upon the Doctor

Shadow progressed through the hallway that connected Eggman room to the tower itself. He had just ridden the elevator from the floor where he battled Diablon and Sonic and was about to recover the stolen Chaos Emerald. when he was about halfway down the hall, the chaos emerald appeared before him. When Shadow tried to take it, it floated away toward the door of Eggman's quarters. He chased after it, wondering how a Eggman could do this being a robot and all. Then Shadow began to wonder about the other androids and how he was not like them at all but in appearance. "Those androids cannot harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds like I can. Why is it I can use the power of the Chaos Emeralds in so many ways but they cannot perform a simple Chaos Spear? I mustn't fret, for the answers are just beyond the door!" He chased after the Chaos Emerald which mysteriously passed through the door like it wasn't even there. Shadow wasn't in any mood for games, so with much rage he used Chaos Blast and shot the door off. He entered Eggman's quarters.

In the room was not Eggman but Black Doom. "Shadow," he said, "why have you betrayed us? You may have taken over as ruler of the foolish scientist's makeshift empire, but I could have given you that. I would have given you this whole world!" "Get out!", retorted Shadow, "This is not your business! I must find the answers from the doctor, and when I do...I will destroy you and your pathetic army! Not even those fakers that the doctor made can be beaten by your so called perfect army!" Black Doom, losing patience, said, "Well then, if you refuse to obey me, then I will just have to kill you and rule this empire myself, nay, the entire universe!" Shadow grabbed a gun lying next to him and shot at Black Doom. It was unlike any weapon Shadow had wielded. It weakened Black Doom greatly with each shot. Shadow thought that he was controlling it indirectly with the energy from his chaos powers, so he tried to focus his energies on the gun to control it. Black Doom was down in no time. "This is not over Shadow!", he cried while being warpped to some unknown location. The emerald floated above where Black Doom had fallen, as well as the gun.

The gun took a few shots at Shadow, who didn't realize what was going on. A shot hit him in the head and ko'ed him. The Eggman robot appeared holding the gun. "Stupid Shadow! It looks like my holographic testing provided positive results. This gun is officially the most powerful firearms in the world! I'll be taking those Chaos Emeralds now!" The six chaos emeralds floated from Shadow's body toward the robot. The emerald, having magnetic abilities, attracted the other emeralds to it. Shadow awoke to find something he had never expected to see from Eggman's own hands: a massive, well armed, well armored robot. It looked like the Eggman used to carry the Master Emerald with in the Doomsday Zone years ago. "Haha, Shadow! This is "Ultimate"! This is the weapon. "I will use to destroy the Black Aliens and retake my empire! It begins now Shadow!" The robot flew off into the city. Shadow used the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Shadow, but he wasn't gold like in the game, but silver. This was because he had not discovered justice yet, nor his past. He took off after the massive behemoth as it shot down the Black Alien ships. "You can't escape me this time, doctor!"

Next Chapter: A Genius Scientist's Lineage


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: A Genius Scientist's Lineage

Eggman started the assalt by firing large missle clusters at Shadow, all of which had missed due to Shadow's extreme agility and power. He even rammed into them, which caused them to bounce back at Ultimate. This, unfortunately, did little, but effective, damage. "Is that all ya got?!", yelled Eggman, "Get a load of THIS!" The fingers of Ultimate started firing thick laser blasts at Shadow while the stomach of the metal behemoth opened, revealing a massive cannon. While the finger blasts kept Shadow busy, it also enclosed him in a tight area while the cannon was charging. When it had finally finished charging, a massive, unavoidable laser blast fired at Shadow. Missles were launched as a distraction, and they worked. Shadow had taken considerable damage. "How...how did you do that?", asked a rather beaten Shadow. "Remember, Shadow", said Eggman, "That I have your Chaos Emerald." The battle had just begun.

More missles were launched at Shadow, this time, though, in greater quantities. Shadow was able to ricoche all of them back to Ultimate. This time it was critical. The missles hit Ultimate's head, upper arms, upper legs and stomach which were all vital points. Eggman did not fasten these parts well enough to the main body and the head was not armored well enough. Eggman then shot small spiked balls from Ultimate's lower leg region, missles and laser blasts from his fingers. The main cannon opened once more. "Don't think you've got me this time, doctor! I've got a trick up my sleeve as well!" While the cannon was charging, Shadow caused the distraction missles to ricoche into the cannon causing severe damage. When the cannon was almost fully charged, Shadow rammed into his at full power, destorying it and the massive metal hulk. The steel behemoth fell to the ground with a series of explosions because of the energy that had to be released. When the machine finally hit the ground, a massive explosion resulted.

Shadow flew down to inspect the scrap metal and discovered Eggman, who was remarkably still breathing. "Shadow...why did you try to kill me?", asked the half-dead doctor. "You...you called me...Shadow. Does...this...does this mean...that I'm...not...", studdered a confused Shadow, "No! I must stop thinking those retched thoughts! I was created by you and am the emperor of the robot empire!" "No, Shadow!", said Eggman, "You are not my creation. Your memories, Shadow, your memories of Maria or my grandfather or of the horrid assault aboard the Ark cannot be manufactured! Those were your sufferings, you have beared those for 50 years. You know this is true Shadow! You must know!" Shadow was taken aback by the doctor's words. He did not expect such things to come from the mouth of a dictator. "If what you say is the truth, then why have you created those fakes of me? Why do I have powers and they don't? Why did you say I was your creation? Why have you tried to destory me?" Tears began to fill Shadow's eyes. He had never cried before save the moment Maria was murdered. He was confused and had been lead astray by so many people. His whole being was split in two now. "Why all these lies?! WHY?!" Eggman began to recover and knelt on one knee before the weeping hedgehog.

"Shadow...I told you that so...", Eggman said with a guilty conscience, "so that you would find loyalty toward me because I made you. You are nothing like those robots I made! Machines cannot harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds! Only the true ultimate lifeform can! That's YOU, Shadow! The Black Aliens are you're true foes! Let us ban together and destroy them!" "You mean", said Shadow, drying his eyes, "For the...Empire?" "No, Shadow", said Eggman, "Not for the Empire, but for Freedom...for Justice...for us!"

"Yeah, Eggman! Way to boost some moral!", exclaimed a familiar voice. "Hey! It's Sonic!", said Shadow. Sonic was standing atop Tails' starship, which was hovering downward close to Eggman and Shadow. "Sonic? What are you doing here?", asked Eggman. "Just came by to ask if you two wanna head on over to the Black Comet. Wanna join the party?', asked Sonic. "Absolutely!" said Eggman. "Let me get the last Emerald.", said Shadow. He reached for it, but in a flash it was gone. Shadow only caught a glimpse of the figure that stole it befoe it quickly warpped away. The onlt thing he could make out was the blur's bulky torso and small legs. Shadow, wondering about the blur, had one name buzzing through his mind, "Omega?"

Next Chapter: The Black Hero's Rebirth and the Fullmetal Prince


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Black Hero's Rebirth and the Fullmetal Prince

Shadow, Eggman, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Rouge finally made it to the Black Comet aboard Tails' Spaceship. Amy stowed away in the cargo hold. Shadow immediately took off when his feet touched the organic floor of the comet. "Hey, wait up!", yelled Sonic, "Oh well, guess we'll just have to follow him." Shadow just bolted through the passageways killing black creatures as he went. The Black Soldiers proved to be no threat to him and were quickly killed. Black Oaks came crashing down like they were dead trees. "You must be joking! This is the ultimate army of the superior race?", said Shadow. He ran a few passageways forward and was confronted by a 20 Elite Black Arms squadren. "This should be fun", said Shadow gleefully.

Sonic and the gang, even though Shadow had destroyed many of the Black Arms soldiers, still had trouble with a few along the way. Shadow did destroy every one in his path, but reinforcments came just in time to meet Sonic. Sonic and co. fought off the creatures without trouble. "Eggman! Look out behind you!", shouted Knuckles. A Black Oak stood behind Eggman, ready to cut him in two with his massive Black Sword. Before the creature knew what hit it, Eggman threw out a Shadow Rife out from under his suit and shot the creature, killing it. "What the? You've never used a gun before except when using a machine!", exclaimed Sonic. "I know, but I can't let you have all the fun.", said Eggman. "Let's hurry and catch up!"

Shadow was finally stopped in a room with a small bridge like suspension over a lower floor. The bridge was actually floor, but it suspended over the lower section like a bridge. On the bridge was Omega himself. He had black cratches on him, almost as if he was infested. "Shadow! Your death is now!", said Omega, "You have been slowing down the inevitable! I am the true emperor of the Eggman Empire! Black Doom has promised me that if you are killed and prevented from stopping his plans, then I will rule the empire and this world. With the power of this Chaos Emerald, I will fulfill my destiny and be the ultimate life form!" "You? The ultimate lifeform? Bah!", said Shadow, "You aren't even worthy of the title of Arnold Schwarzeneggar imposter! I'll show you that no machine can make the Ultimate Lifeform! Just say when, Rin Tin Tin!"

Sonic and co. were at the final door. Beyond it was Shadow and Omega, but, unfortunately, it was locked. "What could be keeping this door locked?", asked Rouge. Amy ran toward them. "HELP!", she cried. Three massive Black Comet Security Ships flew into their vision. "Well, there's no turning back now! Eggman, use that gun to cover us if any Black Aliens show up." "You bet, Sonic! I can even fire at those ships and do critical damage. That's what this was made for!", said Eggman proudly.

Omega didn't care what he fired at, so long as he killed Shadow. Bullets flew everywhere as Shadow dodged them with the greatest of ease. "Is this all you got, Utlimate Life Form? Let me show you what true power is!" Shadow ran toward a wall and jumped on it. Then, using all his might, lurched forward at Omega and hit his upper torso and head. His head was spinning a mile a minute and Chaotic energy started bursting forth. "That's why you were firing so much! You had to release energy! Now hand me that emerald!" The instant he said that, Omega exploded and the emerald floated to him. Finally, I've got all the Chaos Emeralds! Now I can uncover the truth about my past...ALL of it!"

Next Chapter: A Missive from 50 Years Ago


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Missive from 50 Years Ago

As the emeralds hovered over Shadow's head, Sonic and company ran to find Shadow. Black Doom emerged from the floor in his ghostly form and proclaimed, "Well done, Shadow! Give me the Chaos Emeralds so that our ritual of prosperity can begin!" Sonic, having finally found him with along with the gang, shouted, "No, Shadow! Give ME the Chaos Emeralds!" "Do not give the Emeralds to Black Doom, Shadow!", ordered Eggman. "They want to destroy the planet!", exclaimed Rouge. Black Doom chuckled. "How pathetic! These creatures will become the instrument of their own demise! Nothing has changed since 50 years! Gerald Robotnik wanted to create the ultimate life force on the planet, and I promised I would help if I would recieve the 7 Chaos Emeralds. You, Shadow, would help us do both!" "That's insane!", exclaimed Eggman in disbelief, "He risked his own people for research?!" Black Doom again chuckled. "It is true. Do you not see now, Shadow? We offer Salvation! These humans are a great energy source for us...they will be well kept." "What?!", exclaimed everyone. Soon, everyone realized they couldn't move. Shadow was in a kneeling position on the ground, with one hand holding his forehead. Black Larva swarmed into the room. "Eat, my offspring, these savory dishes!", said Black Doom.

Shadow was not about to become subdued by a formless gas. He rose from his submission and crushed one of the larvae approaching him. "Well then, it seems you still have some fight in you.", Black Doom said as he retreated to the core of the Black Comet, "Then come fight me and die trying!" Shadow bolted out of the room, destroying some of the strange organic "ornaments" in the room. This destroyed the circulation of gas, which was only effective if constantly breathed in. Sonic and the gang, through a walkie-talkie they attached to Shadow, wished him good luck, which boosted his adrenaline. Shadow found no trouble making it through the Last Way. Because he had a purified sence of justice, he could now use Chaos control more and company realized they could move again, so they hastily retreated to the exit where the ship was.

Unbeknownst to the gang, even to Shadow, the Black Comet was above Westopolis and, by using "tentacle-like" tubes emerging from the Comet, became one with the earth. Sonic and the gang didn't have any trouble with Black Alien Soldiers, as most were already dead. When they at last reached the exit, a strange black blob with red metallic parts on it guarded the exit. It was the entity that possessed Omega. It had Omega's head, left arm, and part of his right leg. some chest parts were present as well. "Eggman, I..will not...allow you...to escape from...me!" It transformed it's arm into a rifle and shot at the gang, but was quickly dispatched by Eggman, who had one shot left in his Shadow Rifle. "Eggman...why?", asked Sonic. "Because," said Eggman, "I can't allow you to be killed by some alien. That's my job!" They then left the comet with the ship and landed as safly away as possible. "It's all up to him now...", said Eggman.

Shadow, using Chaos Control many times, finally made it to the core of the Comet where Black Doom resided. "I'm impressed you made it this far, Shadow, but now you will die!" Black doom raised his hand, which caused Shadow to fall to his knees. "Can you feel it? You possess my blood! Therefore, you are a part of me, and I possess you!" Meanwhile, aboard the colony, the Chaotix crew were trying to play a video they found on the Ark's database. After Charmy had bashed the computer, it began working. "Shadow, my son.", said the man on the screen. "Professor?!", said Shadow. The professor explained how Black Doom had used him to find the chaos emeralds and the true purpose of the Eclipse Cannon. Everyone in the world viewed the video, even Sonic and company. Shadow recovered from his trance and attempted to attack Black Doom, who warpped out of the comet. "It's time you met your end, Shadow! Your past, present and future ends here...TODAY!" Shadow was not about to be intimidated by such words of a coward. He used the power of the emeralds to become Super Shadow again. This time he was golden because he finally uncovered the truth and now knew what justice truely was. Then he flew out of the Comet to face the ultimate power in the universe, the true master of the Black Empire: Devil Doom.

Next Chapter: The Cleansing of Darkness


	12. Chapter 12

Final Chapter: The Cleansing of Darkness

When Shadow flew out of the Black Comet, he came face to face with Black Doom's super form, Devil Doom. It was a two headed, one-eyed creature with two massive bat-like wings and four small arms. It's body was attacked to a strange ball that was similar to the numerous red fruits he saw along his journey, only it was larger and had no glow. "Now, Shadow!", yelled Devil Doom, "I will show you the ultimate power in the universe!" "Bring it on, Black Doom!", retorted Shadow. He flew at full speed toward the monstrous monstrosity, but just before Shadow could make contact, Devil Doom warped away using Chaos Control. With Shadow further away, Devil Doom used his power of raise buildings, large boulders and chunks of pavement and hurl them at Shadow. He was able to dodge them and tried to ricochet one of the fragments of debris at Devil Doom. Unfortunately, the chunks were too big and too weakened by the constant beatings they recieved that they crumbled.

Shadow soon discovered that he had more energy than usual and tried to create a way to release it. He then remembered his old attack Chaos Spear. He charged up his energy, aimed toward Devil Doom's eye, and fired it. The eye popped out of the socket, revealing Doom's Eye. It was the same eye that followed Shadow during his journey. It flew to the other head and attached itself to it. Shadow continued to do this repeatedly. "I see I have underestimated the power of the emeralds...nonetheless I will kill you all the same!" These words did not phaze Shadow, for he knew that he had to do this to attone for his past crimes, save the world, and keep his promise to Maria. Devil Doom was becoming weaker by the minute. He said to Shadow, "Open your eyes, Shadow! Absolute rule is the only way to save the humans!" Shadow was unmoved by the pleas of the vicious beast and replied, "I am the only absolute power on this earth. I control the power of the emeralds and use them to their fullest extent! Let me show you just how to really use the power of the Chaos Emeralds! Chaos Spear!" With that, the otherworldly creature breathed his last. "Impossible! I am the supreme being of this universe! I am the ultimate power! Gahhhh!"

Shadow flew underneath the Black comet and warped it in front of the eclipse cannon. He quickly entered the colony and fired the cannon at the organic rock. Sonic and the gang saw the whole thing from their safe landing area. They cheered as they witnessed the destruction of the Black Comet in outer space. Shadow, on the other hand, did not return. The world no longer required his presence, for he did what he was created for. After glimpsing a picture of Maria and Gerald Robotnik, he cast it aside, saying, "Farewell forever, Shadow the Hedgehog." He had put his past behind him.

Epilogue:

Shadow walked into the laboratory where he was created. "Some people believe that they have come from the earth and it is to the earth they shall return. This is where I was created, this is where I shall die.", he said solomnly. He typed a message on the computer next to the capsule, walked into it and, as it was closing and filling up with a stasis liquid, he said, "Maria, Father, here I come."

Many years later, a decendent of Dr. Eggman named Dr. Ivo Robotnick III came to Ark in search of old data and blueprints. He discovered the capsule of a dead hedgehog with a message written on the computer next to it. On the screen read the following: "I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate lifeform created by Gerald Robotnick, loved by Maria Robotnick, and savior of this world. I have caused so much destruction in revenge, when my mission was to bring peace. I had done what needs to be done. I have kept my promise to Maria, and it is this day that I return to the ones who love me. May this world forget about my presence and remember me as but a mere shadow in the dark alley. This is who I am."

The End


End file.
